§ (1.) Where the spending authority are a School Board for a school district which is a parish, or the surveyors of highways, the amount which otherwise would be payable under this Act to the spending authority may he paid to the rural district council, or if the parish is not in a rural district, to the guardians of the poor law union, in which the parish is situate, and, if so paid, shall he paid or credited by them to the spending authority.
§ (2.) Every sum paid under this Act out of the Local Taxation Account to any spending authority in respect of any rate, shall, for the purpose of its application, of account, and of audit, be deemed to have been raised by the said rate.
§ (3.) For the purposes of Section ninety-seven of the Elementary Education Act, 1870, any amount paid or credited under this Act out of the local taxation account to a School Board shall be deemed to have been actually paid by the rating authority, and the amount which would have been raised or been produced by a 199 rate of threepence in the pound on the rateable value shall be calculated in like manner as if this Act had not passed.
§ MR. BUXTONsaid, it would be convenient to the Committee if either the right hon. Gentleman in charge of the Bill or the Solicitor General would explain the exact meaning of this clause.
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERALsaid, the clause consisted of three sub-sections. The first dealt with the case that might often occur, where a School Board for a school district, which was a parish, or the surveyor of highways were the spending authority. It would be very inconvenient that the Exchequer and Local Government Board should have to hand over such sums to each spending authority. Therefore, purely as a matter of convenience, there was provided a fund through which the contributions due to them might better reach the spending authorities, and which should be paid to the Rural District Council, or where the parish was not a rural district, to the Guardians of the Poor Law Union, and paid over or credited by these authorities to the spending authorities. The Committee would see that the subsections merely provided machinery to save trouble. It did not involve any matter of principle. The second subsection was simply this—the Committee would remember that the spending authority received a payment from the Exchequer in respect of the deficiency on the rate, and this sub-section provided that any sum paid under the Act should for the purpose of its application, of account and of audit, be deemed to have been raised by the said rate. The 3rd sub-section dealt with the 97th section of the Elementary Education Act, 1870. Hon. Members would be aware that that section provided that if any School Board got from the rating authority a sum which equalled 2d. in the £on the rating in the district, and if that sum was less than £20 or 7s. 6d. per child, then in addition to the ordinary Parliamentary grant, that Scnool Board could get a grant sufficient to make it up to £20 or 7s. 6d. per child. The effect of the 3rd sub-section was that the payment made out of the grant coming from the Exchequer was to be taken as part of the payment made by the rating authority to the School Board.
§ *SIR CHARLES DILKEthought that the words of the first sub-section ought to be of a more general character.
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERALsaid that the point made by the right hon. Gentleman was worthy of consideration, but he was not prepared to alter the words of the sub-section on the spur of the moment.
§ MR. YOXALLmoved to amend the clause by striking out the following words, "a School Board for a school district which is a parish, or."
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERALhoped that the hon. Member would not press his Amendment.
§ *MR. MUNDELLAsuggested that the hon. and learned Gentleman should omit the clause altogether, and should bring up a new clause on the Report.
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERALsaid that he could not do that; but he undertook that the point raised by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for the Forest of Dean should receive due consideration.
§ Question put, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the clause."
§ The Committee divided:—Ayes, 208; Noes, 77.—(Division List, No. 196.)
MR. HERBERT ROBERTSmoved, in Sub-section 1, to omit the words "to the Rural District Council or if the parish is not in a rural district."
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERALsaid they were prepared to accept the Amendment.
§ Amendment agreed to; clause, as amended, added to the Bill.
§ Clause 8,—